c. 2000 Religion News Service

Baptist Radio Program to Air Controversial Falwell Interview

(RNS) The host of a Southern Baptist agency’s radio program says a recent interview with the Rev. Jerry Falwell that includes comments about the upcoming presidential election will be aired despite concerns voiced by a group advocating church-state separation.

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said the “For Faith & Family” radio broadcast featuring Falwell is scheduled to air in early July.

According to Baptist news services, Falwell urged the defeat of Vice President Al Gore, the presumed Democratic candidate, in the November election.

“The American people, I think, sense something right now _ that we are about to lose America,” Falwell said. “Ronald Reagan would not have been president unless Bible-believing Christians in 1979 and 1980 by the millions said, `We’ve had enough,’ and threw Jimmy Carter out and put Ronald Reagan in, to put it bluntly.

“If we don’t do the same thing Nov. 7 with Mr. Gore … and get somebody in there to rebuild the moral values and fabric of this nation, we’re going to be in the same mess or worse than we were in 1980.”

The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, wrote to Land to urge him not to air the interview.

“If his comments had been broadcast live, the Commission and the Southern Baptist Convention would probably not be held legally responsible for his opposition to the Gore candidacy,” wrote Lynn in a June 14 letter to Land. “However, since the program was taped for later broadcast, airing it now _ knowing of its partisan content _ could put the SBC’s tax-exempt status in jeopardy.”

In the letter, Lynn said federal tax law prohibits tax-exempt groups from endorsing or opposing candidates running for public office and his group is willing “to file more complaints with the IRS if necessary.”

“Because Falwell is a Southern Baptist pastor and prominent leader in your denomination, many listeners of the SBC-produced program would certainly conclude that his partisan agenda has the official endorsement of the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Land responded by saying he would not be intimidated by “threats” from Lynn.

“Our normal and standard editing process will in no way be influenced by what I believe any fair-minded person would perceive to be your heavy-handed attempt to intimidate our ministry and our freedom of speech,” Land wrote in a June 21 letter to Lynn.

“Southern Baptists are well aware that every local Southern Baptist church is an autonomous entity, and the pastor of a local church speaks only for that church and not for the entire denomination, even if he is a `prominent’ Southern Baptist.”

Lutherans Want to Help Other Protestants Build Relations With Vatican

(RNS) A year after signing a sweeping declaration on salvation with Vatican officials, leaders of the Lutheran World Federation said they want to help other Protestant groups settle a 500-year-old doctrinal schism with the Roman Catholic Church.

The LWF, which represents nearly 60 million Lutherans in 70 countries, recently wrapped up an eight-day meeting of the organization’s governing body in Turku, Finland.

Last year, officials from the LWF and the Vatican signed the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,” which said salvation is achieved by faith alone in Jesus Christ and is not based on good works. That issue was the main wedge that drove Martin Luther to lead the Protestant Reformation from the Catholic Church in the 16th century.

The Rev. Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the LWF, said his organization wants to help in “bridge building” between other Protestant bodies and the Roman Catholic Church that could lead to the signing of similar declarations.

Noko also called for continued discussion between Protestants and Catholics on the celebration of communion and the use of indulgences.

Currently, the Catholic Church prohibits non-Catholics from participating in communion. A LWF report said “there is a deep spiritual desire of many Christians for unity at the Lord’s Table,” according to Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.

The use of indulgences _ in which the church grants a reprieve from Purgatory as a reward for fulfilling certain obligations _ was one of the biggest theological complaints of Reformation leader Martin Luther. The Catholic Church continues to offer indulgences, particularly as part of the Jubilee celebrations, and that has caused concern with some European Protestant leaders.

LWF officials also said they would like to see greater cooperation with the World Council of Churches, which could include holding their assemblies simultaneously.

Catholic, Jewish Groups Oppose Proposed Social Services Cuts

(RNS) A coalition of religious groups that provides social services to the poor and elderly is asking the U.S. Senate not to pass a proposed cut of more than $1 billion in social service funding.

Led by Catholic Charities USA and United Jewish Communities, a coalition of faith groups said cutting social services funding by 66 percent would devastate local programs like Meals on Wheels, day-care, adoption and food kitchens.

At issue is the Social Service Block Grant program, which distributes close to $2 billion in grants each year to states to fund social programs. States use that money to contract with local providers _ such as Catholic Charities or Jewish federations _ to provide social services.

President Clinton asked for $1.7 billion for the program, but Senate budget officials only gave the program $600 million. Under the 1996 Welfare reforms, Congress promised to fund the program with at least $2.3 billion each year, and last year that amount was cut to $1.7 billion.

Providers say gutting the program even further would stretch already limited resources and result in fewer services for needy people.

“Our national federation system raises millions of dollars annually for social services, and relies on (block grant) funding to fill in the gaps,” said Diana Aviv, vice president of public policy for United Jewish Communities. “Without this funding, our agencies would be unable to fulfill their mission to serve all of our clients.”

A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, is working to restore the money to at least the $1.7 billion level, and would like to see it increased to $2.3 billion. Supporters say it is unfair to ask faith-based organizations to deliver more social services without helping them foot the bill.

“With new surpluses and billion-dollar tax cut proposals being debated, now is not the time to allow cuts in (this program),” said Sharon Daly, vice president for social policy for Catholic Charities USA.

Jewish Spy Suspects Will Not Face Death, Iranian Official Says

(RNS) The 13 Iranian Jews suspected of spying for Israel will not face death sentences but will instead spend much of their lives in prison if convicted, an Iranian official said Thursday (June 22).

Hossein Ali Amiri, the judiciary chief of the Fars province, where the trial of the 13 suspects is being held, told the Associated Press that the suspects were not being tried on charges that would carry a death sentence.

“According to the law, none of the 13 accused are expected to get the death penalty,” Amiri said.

The case of the 13 suspects has caught the attention of the world, with Jewish groups calling on Iran to conduct more fair trials. The trial is closed to the public, and the judge also acts as the prosecutor.

Eight of the 13 suspects have pleaded guilty, and four have maintained their innocence, and one admitted to passing on sensitive information, but didn’t think it was spying. Israel has said none of the 13 suspects were spies.

Defense lawyers have long maintained that the charges do not warrant the death penalty, but Thursday’s announcement marks the first time that an Iranian official has agreed.

Regent University Offers Degree Focusing on School Violence

(RNS) In response to nationwide concern about school violence, Regent University has announced plans to offer a graduate-level program over the Internet that focuses on school-based security.

Alan Arroyo, education dean of the school in Virginia Beach, Va., said the master of education program is based on the idea that violence originates in communities, not in schools. It aims to help communities and school leaders recognize and respond to factors that put communities and schools at risk.

“We really believe that this tide of crime and violence in our schools can be turned if we take a proactive rather than reactionary position and adequately train our professionals,” Arroyo said in a statement. “Educators and law enforcement professionals haven’t really collaborated on programs like this in the past, but then again, in the past, we had no idea of the issues that schools would face today.”

Students working toward the master’s degree with a specialization in school-based security and community policing will be able to take most courses online, but also will be required to attend residential training sessions at sites across the country.

Scottish Parliament Repeals Anti-Gay Law

(RNS) After six months of fierce public debate that divided Scotland’s churches, the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday (June 21) ) repealed the so-called Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act which barred local authorities from promoting “the teaching in any maintained (government financed) school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.”

The law has been attacked by critics both as encouraging intolerance toward homosexuals and as inhibiting teachers from explaining in class what homosexuality was.

The vote to repeal Section 28 and replace it with a new law was 99-17, with two abstentions.

The new law includes guidelines requiring schools to establish “the importance of family life and relationships, including the responsibilities of parenthood and marriage.”

A last-minute concession by the Scottish government to include the guidelines apparently satisfied leaders of the vociferous campaign to keep the old law.

Among the strongest opponents of repeal was Cardinal Thomas Winning, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Glasgow.

However, the cardinal’s stance was not popular with some of his flock, while the Church of Scotland was divided on the issue and at its general assembly last month urged the Scottish government, in repealing the clause, to ensure that schools “have a regard to the value of marriage, parental commitment, and family relationships in a child’s development.”

Meanwhile, south of the border, the House of Lords has so far blocked the British government’s attempts to repeal a similar law and a lengthy parliamentary battle is likely before England and Wales are no longer bound by the provisions of this clause.

Quote of the Day: Ibrahim Hooper, Communications Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations

(RNS) “In our experience, these incidents don’t have to have persons writing `Die Muslim, Die’ on the side of a building for it to be a hate crime.”

_ Ibrahim Hooper, communications directors for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, asking federal officials to investigate a shooting at a Memphis mosque on Tuesday (June 20) as a possible hate crime. One person was injured in the 4:30 a.m. shooting. Hooper was quoted in The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

DEA END RNS